What a Way to Start the Day, the Week, the Year

Every week at West Chester Friends School begins with a celebration of community called “Gathering.” All of the students and teachers form a circle in the schoolyard and greet each other by shaking hands and saying, “Good morning,” with those on either side. Children are encouraged to include their friends’ names and to smile. You can feel the mood lift when there are smiles passing around the circle.

Next, students from each class share a highlight from the previous week or their anticipation of something in the current week. This week, for example, fourth grade announced their Word of the Week (it’s “cygnet,” which means “a young swan”), fifth grade told us that homework had begun, third grade welcomed a new student, second grade shared that they learned a card game to help with math facts, first grade announced that they are making their doves, and kindergarten proclaimed, “Kindergarten is fun!”

The greeting and sharing are elements from the Morning Meeting, an aspect of Responsive Classroom which happens in the kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms every morning (pre-kindergarten introduces these elements later in the year).

Children whose birthdays are coming up in the week hear their name called and receive the well wishes of everyone in the circle. Announcements are then made. These range from reminders of upcoming events to recognition of a job well done. Finally, we sing a song – an uplifting way to transition into the rest of the day.

With this being the first week of school, T. Rege arranged for Sage Larsen ’13 to perform a song that has a wonderful story behind it. Five years ago, when Ellie Kerns ’11 was in first grade studying the Civil Rights Movement with T. Connie, she wrote the song, “Stand Your Ground.” She and her classmates performed the song at Gathering that year, and we have enjoyed it from time to time since then. This summer, Ellie and Sage attended a week-long band camp, during which they rewrote some of the lyrics, wrote the music, performed and recorded a dvd.

Listen to a version of the song with both girls singing. It was recorded in a studio and includes piano and drums in addition to Sage’s guitar. While you listen carefully to the words, imagine Sage standing in the circle with just her acoustic guitar, singing confidently for all of us.